Essentially, who is responsible for the unfortunate events that took place in the novel “The Crucible”? Throughout the book, Mr.Danforth, who serves as the Judge of the courtroom, seems to be held accountable for numerous misfortunes. Danforth’s biased opinions and leniency towards Abigail led him to make sporadic decisions and impulsive judgements when it came to the accusations of others. Hale, a devout reverend, also plays a prominent aspect in the blame game. However, unlike Danforth, Hale actually searched for the truth and craved justice for others. That is why I believe that Danforth is to blame for the events that occurred in the Crucible. Although everyone in the town thought the witchcraft stories the girls told were true there …show more content…
And you know I can do it; I saw Indians smash my dear parents' heads on the pillow next to mine and I have seen some reddish work done at night, and I can make you wish you had never seen the sun go down! Abigail to Betty and Mary Warren who initially express fear about their actions in the woods and express a desire to confess. Abigail asserts her power over the girls right away so as to ensure she is not exposed. “ (miller page 20) so Marry accused Proctor of witchcraft so she won’t be sent to hang. So Danforth threw Proctor in jail one of the town's most proud men because Mary warren accused him after Abigail and the girls turned on her. Proctor got sent to hang after these words were spoken ”A fire, a fire is burning! I hear the boot of Lucifer, I see his filthy face! And it is my face, and yours, Danforth! For them that quail to bring men out of ignorance, as I have quailed, and as you quail now when you know in all your black hearts that this be fraud-God damns our kind especially, and we will burn, we will burn together”( miller 119). Proctor confessed to the court
This goes for Judge Danforth, too. He worries more about his reputation as a judge that he is willing to hang innocent people in the community. For example, when John Proctor confesses his affair with Abigail and how she hopes to take Elizabeth’s place, Danforth purposely chooses not to believe Proctor. He, even, says, “She [Elizabeth] spoke nothing of lechery, and this man has lied,” (Miller 114) without holding further investigation of the confession! Danforth believes Abigail and the girls because he does not want to publically admit he was deceived by them, for it will harm his reputation.
When a trial is going on the court needs to have solid evidence before accusing anyone of being guilty or not guilty. The Salem Witch trials was a historical event that took place in Salem, Massachusetts, where a group of girls were accused of witchcraft, and later they all testified to the activity of witchcraft, and for this they were not punished for their wrong doings; however, everyone else that was accused and did not testify were punished for telling the truth about not being involved in witchcraft. The ultimate responsibility for the deaths of the innocent Puritans is borne by Danforth because he makes decisions without having solid proof, he believes the other girls over Mary Warren , and he has all the power to decide who gets to die or survive. One reason why Danforth is responsible for the death of the innocent Salemites is because he makes decisions without having solid proof. During the whole trials Danforth does not believe anyone who does not testify to witchcraft because he believes the girls that accused the innocent puritans.
In this play the crucible does portrays injustice by Danforth is not following court that is ruled by religion, Abigail intimidating the court, and the accused not having proper court rights. The people back in the sixteen hundreds did use the excuse of calling someone a witch for their land. That person then would have no evidence to prove himself innocent. The court back then was people are guilty till proven innocent when our courts today are the total
Brook Mills Mrs. Brown English 10 11/03/15 Many individuals of Salem have to deal with everyday hysteria with many people accused of being a witch and being executed. Other than Abigail, three characters who are to blame for the hysteria in The Crucible are Judge Danforth, John Proctor, and Mary Warren. A character that contributed to the hysteria in The Crucible was Judge Danforth. He contributed to the hysteria because he sent men and women to be executed for no reason.
Judge Danforth, by siding with Abigail is unfair and is only being manipulated by Abigail. Abigail realizes how oblivious Danforth is and takes advantage of him. Towards the end of Act three, while Hale is convinced that Proctor had told the truth Danforth takes side with Abigail. Abigail cleverly takes advantage of Danforth's oblivion towards his colleague and whips up another act to further convince her claims. "Hale: I believe him!
Who's to Blame For the Salem Witch Trails? In Arthur Miller's "The Crucible," Abigail Williams, Judge Danforth, and John Proctor are responsible for the witch trials. Not only is Abigail one of the characters responsible for the witch trails, but she is the one who instigated the witchcraft fervor within Salem. John is one of the characters responsible for the trails because he has an affair with Abigail.
Arthur Miller used indirect characterization (what characters say about each other) to help prove his point that people will turn against each other to save themselves. Many of the villagers in Salem would call out other villagers to turn the blame onto them in order to redirect the high council in Salem. Furthermore, Abigail Williams was one of the main reasons that the Witchcraft scare even happened in the first place. She wanted to take out Goody Proctor and have John all to herself. She began to accuse people by saying that she saw them with the devil this caused mass panic across the town and made people fear for their lives.
The Devil has returned putting children under his control is what many people believed in Salem village in 1962. In ¨ The Crucible¨ by Arthur Miller many people panicked from the witch hysteria which caused many to be accused of being witches, Judge Danforth decided what happens to the accused witches and is the most corrupted in Salem because his power of being a judge made him go overboard with his decisions on people. When he starts to realize he continues to avoid people from getting mad at him for putting innocent people in jail and killing them. To begin with Danforth became a megalomaniac a person crazy with their own power. As the Judge he gets to pick the punishment of the person accused making him feel superior to others.
Throughout the story, Danforth allowed the character Abigail Williams and the other girls in the story to have the power to have anyone in the village killed. Abigail was searching for revenge to several people throughout the story. This alone resulted in several deaths because people got killed if Abigail blamed a character that she didn’t like of witchcraft. Abigail and the other girls in this story have caused the death of more than 20 people because of Danforth’s ignorance. In The Crucible, Danforth stated, “I have until this moment not the slightest reason to suspect that the children may be deceiving me.”
The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a dramatic play that expresses a very important message and that is how far people would go to save themselves from the hands of death. There are many characters in the Crucible who are guilty of taking innocent lives, but there are three major characters who, without a doubt, are the most at blame. The play takes place in the city of Salem, a city filled with people that would do anything to keep their reputation clean. Throughout the play, Miller is introducing multiple characters that experience changes in their decisions and negatively influence more people eventually leading up to the witch trials. The main point that the story revolves around is that people would rather lie and blame someone else instead of confessing and accepting the punishment.
Danforth: Judge, Jury, and Executioner Judge Danforth’s position in the crucible is the Judge assigned to the proceedings of the Salem witch trials. Instead of treating this immense responsibility with the respect and restraint that is needed, Danforth abused his power by betraying the people of Salem and the Law. He did not listen to the people of Salem defending themselves before inevitably being sent to death; and he cared more about his reputation and the law than he did about peoples’ lives. Danforth was a ruthless power over the people of Salem he demanded respect for himself and the court; and nothing was more important than that.
Proctor then ask what has happened to Betty because he has heard a small rumor about witchcraft lurking in the town. Abigail, moving closer to Proctor, states how she and a few other girls were dancing in the woods before they were
How would you react to hysteria? Would you join or stay far away from it? In the 1960s people were accused of being communists. Arthur Miller publicly stated he was a communist. He was inspired by what had happened in the 1960s and personal experiences.
Anyone could accuse someone of witchcraft, and they would be taken seriously, people would often make up reasons for these accusations, and they were believed. The Crucible accurately portrays how the Salem Witch Trials changed Salem Massachusetts and the lives of its residents. A perfect example
A small group of teenage puritans broke several rules and lied a seemingly innocent lie. That lie turns into a series of hearings where the defendant has two terrible choices. They can either lie and confess to witchcraft that they didn't commit, or hang. That one lie leads to 19 deaths. In Arthur Miller's The Crucible, many characters made crucial decisions that led to the disaster